The Pious Pelican

Myth of the peculiar pelican
Whose bill bloodies its feathery breast
Feeding blood to the chicks in its nest
Ancient acts ever evangelic
Sole sacrifice for the pelican
Whose beak speaks more than a relic can






36 Words  6 Lines  Light Verse
Pelicans appear in Christian iconography
as symbols to verify Christ's self-sacrifice.
Attributions to Dixon Lanier Merritt
(often mistakenly credited to Ogden Nash)
for authorship of the popular Pelican Limerick.

Bite Size Poem No. 16
Sponsor: Line Gauthier

birdchristianreligioussymbolismteacherlight verse

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Andrea Dietrich

September 6, 2021 at 8:28 AM

oh I really like this and what a clever word play on pelican!!!

Greg Gaul

September 6, 2021 at 9:35 AM

You can thank Ogden Nash or his followers. The rest is hundreds of years of religious myth. Blessings.

Gary Radice

August 23, 2021 at 6:20 AM

Very clever Greg and very interesting notes too. I had to google more. I found out that they are symbols of love, sacrifice (as you kindly pointed out) and motherhood. I never knew that. If there's a verse about a bird that can make me research links with Christian iconography then..this peli-can. :) Cheers - Gary

Greg Gaul

August 23, 2021 at 8:33 AM

Gary, you are special. Most don't care to know. Others are off putt by the gory description. Yet, this symbol raged through minds of the faithful for hundreds of years and mainly survives in stained glass on cathedrals in Europe. How little we know of our own Christian history. And does it concern us that such tales were spun? Thanks. Clever last comment too!